A shocking but heartening photo of a firefighter providing some cool relief to a koala struggling in the ferocious Victoria fires has emerged.
Fierce blazes have torn through around 350,000 hectares of land in Victoria over several days, causing significant damage to dozens of towns and destroying more than 300 structures.
The bushfires have also impacted thousands of animals, with firefighters helping wildlife and livestock.
One photo showed a kind firefighter from the Benalla Fire Brigade pouring a bottle of water onto the head of the koala taking refuge in a tree as smoke could be seen filling the sky in the background.
Residents are being warned a cool change on Sunday will not necessarily bring relief to parts of Victoria devastated by bushfires, with erratic winds expected to complicate firefighting efforts.
Thousands of residents are currently impacted by 15 emergency warnings related to three fires raging in different parts of the state.
Victorians are being warned they are not out of the woods yet, despite a drop in temperature slowing the spread of fires “for now”.
“Strong south-westerly winds may cause the situation to change at any time,” a Vic Emergency warning reads.
A WA contingent of 20 firefighters, a taskforce leader and a 17-member incident management team flew out of Perth early on Sunday morning for a seven-day mission to help stretched Victorian crews.
They were responding to an SOS request from Emergency Management Victoria.
Emergency Services Minister Paul Papalia says WA is ready and able to assist.
“Victorians are in peril, and Western Australians are stepping forward to help. It’s really heartening,” he said.
“These people are the best of Western Australians stepping forward with no notice to go the other side of the country to help their fellow countrymen and women in their time of need.”
A Total Fire Ban has been declared for Victoria’s North East and North Central districts for Monday, as firefighters continue to battle significant blazes across the landscape despite milder conditions.
Over 300 buildings have been lost across Victoria, with 150 structures lost in the Longwood fire alone.
In Ravenswood and Harcourt, 47 homes and three businesses have been lost while in Natimuk there have been 30 homes and 40 sheds destroyed by flames.
